Foster - Prince of Dogs

I made my first art quilt for my daughter for Christmas. It is a likeness of her boon companion Foster Beauregard, an eccentric, slightly OCD but very loveable Australian Shepard. It turned out fairly well, even though my sewing machine had a total breakdown and I had to pull out the old Singer Fashionmate 257 I inherited from my sister. That old Fashionmate freemotion stitches like a dream after a good oiling and a little adjustment. Who would have guessed? Anyway here's a slightly blurry pic I took of it before boxing it up.

This seems pretty accurate

I never could conform to one or the other! Good at math and Artsy stuff. Hated math, loved Literature.

You Are 40% Left Brained, 60% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

More postcards

I'm a new member of FiberArt Traders and just completed my first trade. Here are two of the postcards I made for our 'Taste of the Orient' trade. I'm showing these two because I liked the dragon from the beginning, but I wasn't too sure about the Chinese Junk. After I altered the painted background with more paint and added a little paint to the fabrics I had chosen for the junk, it suddenly became my favorite.

I've also made some ATPs (artist trading pins) for our 'Fall ATP' trade. They were a lot of fun to make. Here are the pins.

Now I have to get busy on my September journal quilt among other things.

A few of my dolls

Here for my own amusement are some pictures of a few of the dolls I have made. I was especially proud of the Lady Wizard's boots. It was my first attempt at shoemaking (where are those elves when you need them?) I hope to be making more (dolls, that is, and probably shoes, too) soon, if I can get up from the computer, away from the postcards, and actually do it. Okay... I'll do it after a few more postcards and the journal quilt I have to have done by the 25th.

Postcards and Skies

I finally got a few more postcards done for FFAC, and they are even posted. They started out as an abstact background, but just looked like Crazy quilts to me, so I finished them that way. I didn't put too much hand stitching on them though, because I had already cut them down too small to hoop, and after I stiffened them up it was too hard on the fingers. I did bead a bit, and make a few embroidery stitches, and of course a few vintage buttons. I received a box of buttons from my eldest sister a few months ago, mostly from the fifties and sixties, though some look just like the buttons of today. Anyway, I'm not sure if I like them or not, but I hope someone does. They are titled 'Slightly Crazy' 1-4. Here's a pic of them.
I also have to show you pics of the sky I took a few days ago. It was amazing, and these photos haven't been retouched.

I shall be back soon with pics of a few dolls I have made.

Fiberart for a Cause

I have been enticed by all the caring and talented people making fiberart postcards to donate to Fiberart for a Cause, to try my own hand at this fun medium for a great cause. So here is my first and second attempt.
I've been contemplating a series of artquilts and mixed media projects entitled Cliches, and so fit these two postcards into that theme. The first is titled Not Just Black & White and the other is Bolt out of the Blue.
I had a great time making them and hope to make a few more for the International Quilt Festival in Houston, where they will be shown and hopefully purchased to raise funds for the American Cancer Society.

Welcome to my world

Starting a blog to get myself 'out there' should be done when I am not half asleep, but then that would be too easy. I shall be fine tuning this spot and getting my thoughts together and creative juices flowing in the next few days. Wow those are a couple of good cliches already! I am starting a series of work entitled Cliches, so I'll most likely be overusing a lot of them. I almost titled this blog that, but, um... didn't.

So for now I'll just say welcome to my world. It will get better than this.